1976 San Francisco Giants season

1976  San Francisco Giants
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Candlestick Park
City	San Francisco, California
Owners	Horace Stoneham and Bob Lurie
General managers	Spec Richardson
Managers	Bill Rigney
Television	KTVU (Al Michaels, Gary Park)
Radio	KSFO (Al Michaels, Lon Simmons)
←  1975 Seasons 1977  →

The 1976 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 94th season in Major League Baseball, their 19th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 17th at Candlestick Park. The team finished in fourth place in the National League West with a 74–88 record, 28 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

Offseason

Team movement discussion

During the first half of the 1970s, attendance at cold and windy Candlestick Park plummeted, and Giants owner Horace Stoneham had faced financial hardship. Finally, in 1976, he put the team up for sale. In January 1976, Stoneham agreed to sell the team for $13.25 million to a Toronto group consisting of Labatt's Breweries of Canada, Ltd., Vulcan Assets Ltd., and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The team would begin play with the 1976 season at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium and be called the Giants. ^[1] In addition, it was briefly rumored they considered a return to the New York metropolitan area, perhaps to a new baseball stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Instead, Bob Lurie led a group to buy the Giants from Horace Stoneham for $8 million. ^[2]

Notable transactions

• January 7, 1976: Dennis Littlejohn was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase). ^[3]

Regular season

Opening Day starters

• Von Joshua
• Gary Matthews
• Willie Montañez
• John Montefusco
• Bobby Murcer
• Dave Rader
• Ken Reitz
• Chris Speier
• Derrel Thomas

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	102	60	.630	—	49‍–‍32	53‍–‍28
Los Angeles Dodgers	92	70	.568	10	49‍–‍32	43‍–‍38
Houston Astros	80	82	.494	22	46‍–‍36	34‍–‍46
San Francisco Giants	74	88	.457	28	40‍–‍41	34‍–‍47
San Diego Padres	73	89	.451	29	42‍–‍38	31‍–‍51
Atlanta Braves	70	92	.432	32	34‍–‍47	36‍–‍45

Record vs. opponents

1976 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	6–6	6–12	7–11	8–10	8–4	4–8	5–7	3–9	10–8	9–9	4–8
Chicago	6–6	—	3–9	5–7	3–9	11–7	5–13	8–10	8–10	6–6	8–4	12–6
Cincinnati	12–6	9–3	—	12–6	13–5	9–3	6–6	5–7	8–4	13–5	9–9	6–6
Houston	11–7	7–5	6–12	—	5–13	10–2	6–6	4–8	2–10	10–8	10–8	9–3
Los Angeles	10–8	9–3	5–13	13–5	—	10–2	7–5	5–7	9–3	6–12	8–10	10–2
Montreal	4–8	7–11	3–9	2–10	2–10	—	8–10	3–15	8–10	4–8	7–5	7–11
New York	8–4	13–5	6–6	6–6	5–7	10–8	—	5–13	10–8	7–5	7–5	9–9
Philadelphia	7-5	10–8	7–5	8–4	7–5	15–3	13–5	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	12–6
Pittsburgh	9–3	10–8	4–8	10–2	3–9	10–8	8–10	10–8	—	7–5	9–3	12–6
San Diego	8–10	6–6	5–13	8–10	12–6	8–4	5–7	4–8	5–7	—	8–10	4–8
San Francisco	9–9	4–8	9–9	8–10	10–8	5–7	5–7	6–6	3–9	10–8	—	5–7
St. Louis	8–4	6–12	6–6	3–9	2–10	11–7	9–9	6–12	6–12	8–4	7–5	—

Notable transactions

• June 2, 1976: Von Joshua was purchased from the Giants by the Milwaukee Brewers. ^[4]
• June 13, 1976: Willie Montañez, Craig Robinson, Mike Eden, and Jake Brown were traded by the Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Darrell Evans and Marty Perez. ^[5]
• June 14, 1976: Joe Strain was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants. ^[6]
• June 21, 1976: Casey Parsons was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants. ^[7]
• September 3, 1976: Randy Elliott was signed as a free agent by the Giants. ^[8]

Draft picks

• June 8, 1976: Jeff Stember was drafted by the Giants in the 26th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. ^[9]

Roster

1976 San Francisco Giants
Roster
Pitchers 33 Jim Barr 37 Mike Caldwell 34 John D'Acquisto 25 Rob Dressler 28 Ed Halicki 60 Dave Heaverlo 39 Bob Knepper 46 Gary Lavelle 41 Greg Minton 17 Randy Moffitt 26 John Montefusco 45 Frank Riccelli 51 Tommy Toms 49 Charlie Williams		Catchers 58 Gary Alexander  2 Marc Hill 14 Dave Rader  3 Mike Sadek Infielders 15 Chris Arnold 41 Darrell Evans 10 Johnnie LeMaster 29 Bruce Miller 22 Willie Montañez 16 Steve Ontiveros  1 Marty Perez 21 Ken Reitz  1 Craig Robinson 35 Chris Speier 30 Derrel Thomas		Outfielders 43 Glenn Adams 22 Jack Clark 31 Larry Herndon 19 Von Joshua 36 Gary Matthews 20 Bobby Murcer 12 Gary Thomasson		Manager 18 Bill Rigney Coaches  9 Jim Davenport 56 Frank Funk  8 Buck Rodgers  5 Bobby Winkles

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Dave Rader	88	255	67	.263	1	22
1B	Darrell Evans	92	257	57	.222	10	36
2B	Marty Perez	93	332	86	.259	2	26
3B	Ken Reitz	155	577	154	.267	5	66
SS	Chris Speier	145	495	112	.226	3	40
LF	Gary Matthews	156	587	164	.279	20	84
CF	Larry Herndon	115	337	97	.288	2	23
RF	Bobby Murcer	147	533	138	.259	23	90

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Gary Thomasson	103	328	85	.259	8	38
Derrel Thomas	81	272	63	.232	2	19
Willie Montañez	60	230	71	.309	2	20
Von Joshua	42	156	41	.263	0	2
Marc Hill	54	131	24	.183	3	15
Jack Clark	26	102	23	.225	2	10
Johnnie LeMaster	33	100	21	.210	0	9
Mike Sadek	55	93	19	.204	0	7
Glenn Adams	69	74	18	.243	0	3
Steve Ontiveros	59	74	13	.176	0	5
Gary Alexander	23	73	13	.178	2	7
Chris Arnold	60	69	15	.217	0	5
Bruce Miller	12	25	4	.160	0	2
Craig Robinson	15	13	4	.308	0	2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
John Montefusco	37	253.1	16	14	2.84	172
Jim Barr	37	252.1	15	12	2.89	75
Ed Halicki	32	186.1	12	14	3.62	130
Rob Dressler	25	107.2	3	10	4.43	33
John D'Acquisto	28	106.0	3	8	5.35	53
Bob Knepper	4	25.0	1	2	3.24	11
Frank Riccelli	4	16.0	1	1	5.63	11

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mike Caldwell	50	107.1	1	7	4.86	55
Greg Minton	10	25.2	0	3	4.91	7

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Randy Moffitt	58	6	6	14	2.27	50
Gary Lavelle	65	10	6	12	2.69	71
Dave Heaverlo	61	4	4	1	4.44	40
Charlie Williams	48	2	0	1	2.96	34
Tommy Toms	7	0	1	1	6.23	4

Award winners

All-Star Game

• John Montefusco, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Phoenix Giants	Pacific Coast League	Rocky Bridges
AA	Lafayette Drillers	Texas League	John VanOrnum
A	Fresno Giants	California League	Andy Gilbert
A	Cedar Rapids Giants	Midwest League	Salty Parker
Rookie	Great Falls Giants	Pioneer League	Ernie Rodriguez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great Falls ^[10]

References

1. "Giants Moving: Toronto". St. Petersburg Times. January 9, 1976.
2. Gordon Sakamoto (February 11, 1976). "Giants will stay in San Francisco". Bryan Times. p. 14.
3. Dennis Littlejohn page at Baseball Reference
4. Von Joshua page at Baseball Reference
5. Darrell Evans page at Baseball Reference
6. Joe Strain page at Baseball Reference
7. Casey Parsons page at Baseball Reference
8. Randy Elliott page at Baseball Reference
9. Jeff Stember page at Baseball Reference
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

External links

• 1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Reference
• 1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Almanac